7,854 Shares in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Bought by Hamel Associates Inc.

Hamel Associates Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 21,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,704,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $483,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 22,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,923,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,827,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 324,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,958,000 after purchasing an additional 9,859 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of AZN opened at $178.87 on Thursday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $277.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.